Blue Hour
by lilylovestoerag
Summary: One-shot. James and Lily take a walk in the Godric's Hollow woods and make a big decision about their future together. Post-Hogwarts Jily.


_L_

She could see he was struggling. Fingering the outline of his wand in his pocket, grinding his teeth in restraint.

She was also enjoying it, just a little.

"Bloody mosquitoes are bloody everywhere!" yelled James, at no one in particular. He swatted invisible daemons around his face, flailing his arms and looking helplessly adorable.

Two Muggle women walking a small prissy dog passed them from the other direction, staring down James.

It was twilight in Godric's Hollow, and Lily and James had ventured into the woods.

They had promised each other "no unnecessary public magic," a precaution for avoiding attention. They'd been part of the Order for several months now, joining immediately with their friends after leaving Hogwarts. James had coped fine (at first) with Dumbledore's request to lie low, but the small wandless tasks were adding up, and James was going, well, a teensy bit mad.

Lily rifled through her bag, pulling out a spray bottle of clear liquid.

"You brought a potion?" he asked, unsure of what she was offering him.

"Not exactly. It's witch hazel and citronella," she said, handing over the bottle with an apologetic smile. Lily _could_ brew a killer rub-on repellant potion, but she preferred the scent of citronella, a nostalgic reminder of camping in the Lake District when she was younger.

Even without magic, she was a natural at mixing ingredients (her cocktails and her cooking were a hit with her parents). She had gotten so used to doing things "the old way" during summers in Cokeworth that it felt unnatural to use her wand, of age, around her family. Lily had organised the last Christmas dinner with her ten-and-a-quarter-inch willow wand in her back pocket. When she was home, it was almost a point of pride to maintain some of her Muggle roots, to prove to herself that she was still capable in the world she grew up in. She wasn't really a freak... Right?

James eyed the spray bottle, looking down at it suspiciously through his glasses. He spritzed a tiny patch onto his forearm, then leaned in, curiously, to smell it.

In no time at all, he was spraying himself all over, smirking. _Victory_.

"Now you bastards try to bite me!" he said, in a more cheerful mood than before. The bugs seemed to have left him alone.

Lily laughed, and put the bottle back in her bag.

"Better?" she asked.

"_Yes_, thank you," he said, visibly relaxed.

The sun hadn't quite set, but a canopy of trees hung over them, colouring the pathway and everything around them a dreamlike blue. The mid-August leaves were still lush and the darkest of greens. The woods of Godric's Hollow was James' favourite place, and Lily had to admit, they were magical.

"By the way, keep a look out for fairies," said James, scanning the treetops. "They're like Magpies to jewellery when it comes to my glasses. I've walked home with my arms stretched out in front of me more times than I can count."

James put up the hood of his navy blue zip-up hoodie, a tuft of black hair poking out at the front. He walked behind Lily and bear-hugged her.

"Nice ring, Evans," he said, raising her left hand and brushing his lips near her ear with a smile. With their height difference, he could almost lean his head on hers.

"Thanks, some Potter bloke gave it to me," said Lily, grinning. She was still getting used to the goblin-made diamond.

The proposal had come at an odd time in their lives. There was so much uncertainty about their future (or anyone's future in the Order, really) that something as simple as a ring had made them feel some kind of hope and permanence. Lily would twist it around her finger, a superstition and a ritual, and pray that at the end of the day, everyone she loved would be safe. She couldn't hold them to her chest and never let go, so instead, she worried.

James turned her around to kiss her.

She pushed down his hood, them stumbling backwards together and snogging. Lily combed her fingers through his unruly hair, then moved her hands to his waist, pulling him closer. He ran a cold touch under her jumper, and she felt her body warm him until his fingers were hot on her skin.

Lily looked around, confident that they were alone now. She slid her hand between them, rubbing his crotch lightly overtop of his jeans. She felt the handful harden at her touch and gripped it, rubbing harder and more purposefully. James let out a groan of pleasure, and bit gently on her bottom lip.

"Wait," he said, and stepped back abruptly.

She must have looked confused, as he moved towards her with his hands raised in explanation.

"I'd really, _really_ like to disapparate back to the cottage to shag you on any available surface, Lils," said James, "but I have something to show you."

He drew his wand from his front pocket and pointed it towards a thicket of leaves and twisted branches near the pathway.

What was he doing?

"_Flammos._"

* * *

_J_

The fireflies lit up the darkness, hundreds of them blinking around the trees. They glowed like candlelight in the blue hour, illuminating the pathway and the woods with flashes of soft yellow.

James looked at Lily and felt the throbbing in his jeans. He was momentarily regretting his choice, about to take her in his arms again, when she walked several steps towards the tree line.

"I've never seen _Flammos_ used like this," she said, staring at the fireflies hovering around her.

"I guess I'm an innovator," he joked.

James had come to the woods so often as a child that he had learned an early version of the spell by accident.

He pictured himself, aged nine or ten, sitting amongst the trees with a copy of _Quidditch Through the Ages_. When he wasn't reading about Quidditch, watching Quidditch, or practising on his broom, James had explored the expansive forest that surrounded Godric's Hollow. He had lost his way near nightfall once, panicked and afraid, before setting off the fireflies with accidental magic and illuminating his path home. James had used the spell frequently on his adventures on the castle grounds, the fireflies becoming a comfort to him.

_Flammos_ was taught as being used for already-lit flames. It was remarkably simple first-year magic, but one of James' favourite spells when he was by himself. _Incendio_ started fires; _Flammos_ gave a birthday candle the same amount of light as a wall torch without changing its size.

"What you've done with it is beautiful," said Lily.

"I'm glad you like it," he replied.

"James?" said Lily, quietly.

"Yeah?" he said.

"I don't want to wait to get married," she said, standing in front of him.

The sky was awash with dark and light blues. A nearly-full moon shone over them, turning the grey gravel pathway into a brilliant white.

"I could find a dress, plan it all, and have everyone here in less than a fortnight," said Lily, her emerald eyes wide.

She looked almost frantic. James wondered if she were afraid.

"There's so much we don't know about the future, but I know that I love you," she said. "I want our wedding sooner than later. I really need that."

James took a moment to think of the ceremony. He saw Lily, smiling at him in something long and white. He saw their friends and family around them, a mix of wizard robes and bright Muggle clothing.

He realised how much he wanted it.

James took Lily's face in his hands and kissed her.

"Okay," he said, shaking his head in disbelief and grinning. "Let's send the owl."

They decided to walk home to the cottage instead of disapparating, strolling hand-in-hand. They were getting married, amidst the madness of everything, but they were _together. _Things felt more than okay.


End file.
